Human Rights Watch calls on Egypt to free members of satirical street group

CAIRO — Human Rights Watch on Thursday called on Egypt’s government to release from detention four members of a satirical street group who posted video clips on social media that mocked President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and criticized an agreement with Saudi Arabia that would hand control over two strategic Red Sea islands to Riyadh.

Five of the group’s six members were detained last month, but one was later released on bail. The sixth member has gone into hiding. The six are accused of using social media networks to undermine Egypt’s stability, spreading false news and inciting protests.

“This kind of blanket repression leaves young people with few outlets to express themselves or joke about their daily hardships,” Nadim Houry of the New York-based rights advocacy group said in a statement. “Egypt’s youth have been a driving force for change since the 2011 uprising. Upholding human rights and free speech is the best way for el-Sissi to begin to repair the government’s relationship with them,” he added.

El-Sissi’s government has eroded many of the freedoms won by the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak’s autocratic regime. It responds to criticism of its human rights record by insisting it must strike a balance between stability and freedoms.

The six-man group, Awlad Shawarea, or “Street Children,” has a large social media following. It shoots selfie-style clips on the streets that deal mostly with social and political issues. The group is part of a new, street-based art, music and graffiti movement born out of the uprising and fueled by liberal youths opposed to the rule of either Islamists or the military.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/hrw-calls-on-egypt-to-free-members-of-satirical-street-group/2016/06/23/c904a2ca-3912-11e6-af02-1df55f0c77ff_story.html

Human Rights Watch calls on Egypt to free members of satirical street group

Human Rights Watch calls on Egypt to free members of satirical street group

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